30 days of thanks - a November challenge

OK, the blog has been quiet lately. I'm sorry! My little life is pretty repetitive these days - work, studying lines, rehearsals, family stuff, etc. So while I was just vaccuuming (did I spell that right? Nope, only one "c" - vacuum is such a weird word. Anyway - vacuuming - that looks funny) - aaanyway, while I was doing that, I was getting that nagging feeling in my gut that you get when you're avoiding your blog. Like - what if this it? What  if I never think of anything to write about again? What if it's time to shut the thing down? And then I somehow jumped to the idea of creating a prompt for November.

30 days of thanks.

Each day in November, either here or on Twitter (@asg923) I will name something I am thankful for. It can be serious (family) or silly (CANNNDY) - just something quick to focus my energy before the true chaos of the holidays hits.

Will you join me? I hope you do.

a half-assed Tueday post. I mean, Wednesday. What day is it?

Seriously, I had to think for a bit there on what day today is. I have not been sleeping well over the past few nights. We were away last weekend in PA to see some friends - had an awesome time, especially because our friends have two young daughters who immediately became Jane's BFFs for life (I want to go see Cam and Mia again...when can we go see Cam and Mia...whaaaahhh). They bonded immediately and wow, I can see why people have more than one kid. You're not the constant source of entertainment all the time, you know? This is not enough to convince my old ass to have another - it was just something I noticed.

Something else aweome that happened during that trip  (besides the fact that we survived a 5.5 hour train ride to and fro with Jane) - our friend Jen's cousin is a professional chef. Who happened to have nothing to do on Saturday night. So he and his girlfriend, also a mighty fine cook, came over to cook us dinner. Homemade pumpkin ravioli. Short ribs. Mashed potatoes. A ridiculous pumpkin/chocolate chip cake. Holy shit. Delicious.

Anyway, between our travels and late rehearsals for my show, I have barely been getting 5 hours of sleep a night, and I think last night was less. Which today is really not OK, because I have to go do some voice recording for my job this morning and I feel pretty ugh. Fake it til you make it, right?

Speaking of my show - OMG, I am loving rehearsals so much. Like I said, I haven't been in a show since I was preggo with Jane - been directing and doing tech stuff since then - and I am having a total blast. I have been working my ass off this week to start memorizing my lines. That's the hard part, and wow, I really can't wait until they are all stuffed in my brain. My goal is to loosely have Act 1 in my head by Sunday, then next week focus on Act 2, and then I have another couple of weeks before we have to be totally off book for rehearsals. That script is a crutch, and I want to get rid of it - but there is a loooooong way to go before that. LOOOOOONG. But I love my cast and I am SO happy I'm doing this.

What's up with you on this fine Tuesday? I mean, Wednesday?

here comes the sun.

We have been incredibly blessed in my little area of the world with a very nice stretch of weather over the past few days. We were due - OH, WERE WE DUE - and the temps in the 80s and abundant sunshine has turned this mid-October into mid-June, with the bonus of fall foliage and Halloween candy in the stores.

But, lord, is it getting darker. The sun sets at some point between 6-6:30, I think, and isn't up until after 7ish a.m. And it's only going to get darker, longer.

I hate this. You know I hate this. I've talked about it a million times. Nothing shoves me into the blahs faster than the everlasting darkness of the fall and winter.

BUT.

I am working half days now. So even though the sun sets early, I still get to see it. And in my new office, I have a window. A WINDOW. I see trees, and sun (and rain. and rain. and rain. but also sun!). Both of these things are game-changers for me. In a really good way.

Anything good going on for you this Tuesday?

weekend update.

Friday Friday Friday! Yay! The forecast for this weekend is fantastic - mid-80 on Sunday (!!!), and I am psyched. Plus, Monday off for Columbus Day! Here's the plan:

Friday: In just a little bit, I am heading out to happy hour with some daycare moms, our new tradition. It is awesome. Don't worry, I only have one drink, and I usually don't even finish it. Then Jane and I are going over my friends' house for pizza and fun times.

Saturday: I am debating bringing Jane to the fall festival I mentioned last weekend. I never ended up going with her, because my sister and brother-in-law took her instead. But I really want some apple fritters! We'll see. If we go, we will have to go very early, because we are supposed to go to a chili cook-off party in the afternoon, which is kind of far away. But, chili!

Sunday: Greg will be home! Yay! YAAAAY! Maybe we'll go to the boat? Not sure. Depends on how tired he is. Otherwise I am sure we will go on Monday. Oh, and on Sunday I will be incredibly jealous as my mom departs for a two-week cruise that will take her to Italy, Greece and Turkey.

All weekend: Celebrating the fact that the invisible fence guy came and fixed it, so my idiot dogs can be free in the yard once again.

What are you up to?

lost and found.

So. SO. This has been...A DAY. Let me explain.

Greg left for Mexico for a few days this morning for work. Yeah, MEXICO (nice, right?). Now, we aren't work travelers - I used to have to do a tiny bit for my previous job but now I don't at all, but Greg, who is self-employed, has been ramping up his travel a bit. My point is, we don't have a typical routine for when one of us is not home for a stretch, and, frankly, it blows. Not only will I miss him to help me out with the two idiot dogs and Jane, but I'll just....miss him. You know?

I digress.

So off he went at 5 a.m., and shortly after, I started getting everyone up and ready for the day. Me: showered, hair, makeup, dressed; Jane, breakfast, dressed, properly-entertained whilst I do my preparations; dogs, breakfast, trip outside. We have an invisible fence in our yard, which is a beautiful, amazing thing. On those cold, rainy mornings, you don't have to stand there with your dogs on leashes as they ponder, very thoroughly and with great deliberation, where they are going to, you know, crap.

Yes, it is an amazing thing. Until it doesn't work.

At about 7:10 a.m., I was proud that we were making very good time. I would even have time, after daycare drop-off, to grab coffee before work. Perfect. Just before I get dressed, I open the door to let the dogs in. In comes Jimmy, and he gets his tick-check (once you have Lyme Disease, you become obsessive about ticks. TRUST ME). Strangely, Junior doesn't trail behind, so I go out and call for him.

Sidenote on Junior: If you are new to this blog, Junior is my beloved Great Dane. We have had him for over 8 years, which makes him extremely senior in the world of big dogs. See those big paws up on the masthead for this blog? Junior's. He is my first born dog-child, my love.

And, on occasion, the most monumental pain in the ass. This morning was one of those times.

I look around the yard, expecting to find him somewhere. And even when I realize he's not in the yard, I don't totally panic. The dogs have escaped the fence before - not a lot, but if lightning hits the wires underground, or the batteries in their collars are dead, they will sometimes realize they can meander past the zapping line. But they don't usually go very far.

Because I didn't want to leave Jane back in the house alone, I had to rush her into the car, strap her in, grab a box of bones, and start my drive around the block, arm hanging out the window shaking the box of bones, screaming "JUNIOR!! JUNIOR!!" and trying not to scare Jane.

A couple of trips around the block, and I started to panic. I headed back to the house to check the yard again. By this point, Jimmy was losing his shit in the yard, so once I determined Junior wasn't back there, I put Jimmy in the car, thinking maybe he would bark if he saw Junior (because he's useful like Lassie, right? Except, never). I quickly posted on Facebook that Junior was missing and if anyone was in the area and could they please look for him, and started around the neighborhood again.

Now, I really want you to picture this: at this point my voice is going hoarse from screaming. I am also really starting to cry, but trying not to, because I don't want to scare Jane, who has picked up on the mood and is now semi-crying too, telling me I should call Daddy. Jimmy is full-out HOWLING at this point, like the half-beagle he is, hanging out the window. I still am shaking my box of bones out my window, careening all over the road while looking for Junior, tears dripping down my face.

At this point, I have been looking for him for about 30 minutes. I don't know what to do. A friend of mine who lives nearby saw my message on Facebook and dispatched her husband to look for him as well. I realize I should call animal control. I stop in front of my house, pull out my phone, dial half the number, look up...

And there the douchebag is, in my neighbor's yard, about four doors down.

So I blow down the street, stop my car in front of the house, leave the driver's door open and car running, grab my box of bones and run to get him. Of course, despite the fact that he is approx 1 million years old in dog years, he starts leaping like a goddamned gazelle all over the yard. I finally catch him and grab him by his collar, and....

this is when he decides he is going to sit.

Junior is a 120-pound dog. Now, I do outweigh him, and I'm no wimp, but he is a strong son of a bitch when he wants to be. And he wanted to be. I COULD NOT MOVE HIM. I tried dragging him but was afraid of hurting his neck. After a while, I stopped worrying about his neck and tried to drag as hard as I could. Nothing.

So, now I am standing in my neighbor's yard. Flip-flops, muddy feet, old yoga pants, a tank top that is now covered in dog drool and snot, mascara running down my face from crying, with my car running down the road a little with my other dog and daughter inside. And this was my mantra, on a loop:

JUNIOR LET'S GO I HAVE TO GO TO WORK
Jane! It's OK! Mommy's coming!!!
JIMMY DO NOT GET OUT OF THE CAR
Can anyone help me?

Seriously, I was semi-yelling to see if any of my neighbors would come out to help me. My street is full of very very old people - although there are some younger people filling in here and there, which makes me very happy - and maybe because the weather was cold and their windows were shut, or maybe because they were scared of my big dog, or maybe because they were afraid of the crazy lady out in the street screaming - no one came out to help.

So I figured that my friend, the one who was out looking for my dog, would drive by at some point. So I stood there, holding Junior's collar. And stood there. And stood there. For, like, 15 minutes.

FINALLY, a (younger) neighbor from up the street drove by, saw the scene, and stopped. I begged her to help, which she very nicely did. She held Junior by the collar while I drove my car back home (just a couple of houses, remember), unloaded Jimmy and Jane, went inside to get cheese and Junior's leash, and ran back down to the scene of the crime to relieve my neighbor (who I now really have to bake cookies for).

And after a few minutes of desperately trying to show Junior who's boss (SPOILER ALERT: not me!), I got him to go home. And I got dressed. And I got Jane to  daycare. And I was only 10 minutes late to work.

And that was my morning.

Fin.

PS It seems that the fence is down; must've been hit by lightning again. Ah, just another couple hundred bucks to get fixed!

Anyone want a free, slightly-used dog?